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It's such a double-standard. Toshiba also released some really nice laptops today. They didn't get hardly any press. Steve gets up there, snaps his fingers, and the crowd starts to weep uncontrollably. Get an iLife you lemmings!

Despite being an unapologetic Apple fan I tend to agree.
Glossy screens. No thankyou. I have a dread that the whole world is turning glossy.
New machining process. Looks nice but not worth the effort required.
Price increases in these times. Good luck.
Apple occasionally takes things too far in the pursuit of perfection or engineering excellence, past a point where no one is willing to pay the price. The Cube is the most notable example, DVD drives another.
I suspect this may be another.

@Kale
Trouble is Toshiba do nothing engineering or style wise that makes an impact. Nor do most other producers of commodity PCs. Their fault not Apple's. Try harder.
Only Sony seem to be able to put some proper, original design aesthetic into their products but only a little.

@scoobyclub
My point is: Apple stuff is at least aestheticly fantastic (usability is a little questionable--mighty mouse anyone?) but they are all-in-all just laptops.
Someone give me a good way to seemlessly intertwine tv and the computer (without that damned cable-card) and I'll gladly sit in the crowd bawling my eyes out. A laptop-refresh? Give me a break.

I was hoping for a slightly lower price on the older macbooks, $999 just isn't low enough. If they dropped it another $100-$150 I may have picked one up just to tinker with. The academic discount is only $50 for that model so it really doesn't help much.

scoobyclub
I'd say Lenovo also does some innovative laptops as do Dell with their XPS line as do Alienware
Come to think of it, there seem to be a lot of innovators out there that don't seem to get anywhere near the mention they deserve...

What price increase?
I see $100 knocked off the current model (plus SuperDrive, finally), for $999 white MBs, a price point which is long over-due and welcome. Could be less yet but it's a decent start.
The new MBs look gorgeous with MBA-level build quality (the MBA is amazing build quality-wise, whatever you think of the price or specs - if you haven't handled one yet, seriously check it out) and vastly improved GPUs. $1299 gets you a very well-designed computer w/ Mac OS X & iLife, just like before -- though IMO the design is a serious evolution, and a big improvement.
So the new MB compares extremely well to the older models... save the missing FW, I suppose, if that's something you care about. Before, a non-white MB would cost you $1500 and have a piss-poor GPU. The non-white 13" models now start at $1300.

A few things.
The press is saying a price decrease as the Macbook is now under $1000. [But still a premium price for the OS?]
My $400 ACER laptop actually looks very nice IMO, so it can be done for less.
Kale, aesthetically fantastic? [-1 for spelling]. I have a Mac Pro Tower and I think it looks like an over sized cheese grater. [But I like the OS of course. Thankfully it sits inside a cubby so I don't have to look at it.

btw: as an example of an innovative laptop that didn't get today's press coverage, I'd suggest looking at the Alienware Area-51 m15x which is a 15" laptop that can have up to a Core 2 Extreme processor and either nVidia Quadro FX 3600M or nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX GPU with bunches of configuration choices and starts at $1,500.

"Still you can get the same config for hundreds less with Vista"
I know people, lots of them that pay "hundreds" more to NOT have Vista, and I am not talking Macs. Dell is making a killing loading XP on computers for $99 extra per machine.
I am sure your Acer notebook serves you well. However lets compare something on the PC side that is comparable to the new Macbook. Hardware/Quality/build.
How about a a Dell XPS M1330 which starts at $999 for the cheapest model, and can go up to 2k depending upon the options you pick. The M1330 at $999 has the same CPU, bigger hard drive (250 vs 160) more ram (3gig vs 2gig) but has Intel X3100 graphics, and a popout DVD drive.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DY...
Go up to Vista Ultimate, 8400 Nivida card (which is slower than the new macbook) and slot loading DVD drive and you go up to... $1369. At that point the Dell has 1gig more of RAM, 90gig more disk space and a slower video card for $70 more.
Comparing that Acer is not even close. 14inch and smaller notebook cost more than 15.4inch notebooks, almost always do.
If you are impacted by the down turn in the economy I think a new computer even at $400 is not in your budget.

Samsung just released laptops for the US today, and they look pretty nice:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/were-coming-to-america-samsung-finally-enters-...
I have a couple problems with the new Apple laptops - one is that they're still too expensive. I also don't like the glossy screens and I don't really care how they're made, just that they're relatively durable.
My biggest problem is the HUGE SHEET OF GLASS over the screen. You drop your laptop bag 6 inches or get it squished going through airport security and you're going to have a nice, big cracked screen. I hope I'm proven wrong, but this seems like a very bad idea.
On the upside, the laptops are thin, light and look cool. I don't think I'd buy one though, because they're just too expensive.

Nothing worse than Microsoft fanboys with a streak of jealously and no style whatsoever. $400 laptops, cheaper systems with Vista. Sure, if you like to settle for second (or in this case, third best). Stay with your cheapo systems and Vista OS, you're making a statement that you have no style. You settle. All the hallmarks of the company you love, Microsoft.

I've been waiting for a Mac laptop refresh. Although I got an iMac about a year ago, I simply don't use it that often. I want to simplify, so I'm going to get rid of my MacBook & iMac, and settle on one machine--one of the new MacBook Pros.
I ordered mine this afternoon: 2.8 ghz model, 320 gb 7200 rpm hard drive.
I actually wish that hard drive was larger, but it will be easy to replace down the road. For my purposes, this should be an excellent machine.

Drylight, my wife and I drive a Benz, and I have a Mac Pro Tower 3 GHz Quad with 4GB RAM RAID 0 config [4 HD's total] as my main computer, so I'm not really jealous, just practical [sure, go ahead and call me cheap]. The purpose of my laptop to for portable use to surf the web and word processing, and allow the kids to play Wubbzy and Webkinz when the other two computers are in use. It's a similar concept to MacBook Air, but twice the weight and 15 % of the cost. And I'm buying my mom a new car tomorrow with the spare change. OK, it's not really the spare change for the laptop. but mommy is getting a new car:)
This cheapo notebook looks nice and can do everything I need it to do. Hopefully tayme will have a good experience with it for his sister.

shark
Along with the Mac Netbook, the Mac Tablet, the actual Macintosh (between the iMac and the Pro), the return of the 12" Mac Book, the updated AppleTV, the BluRay drive, the option of a non-glossy screen, the docking station...
But his Steveness has told them that they don't need them so now they know they don't and will happily tell everyone why they don't (once Steve tells them).

You know, Paul's "take" and that of other winzealots is just, . . ., kinda. . . sad.
By any reasonable measure, Apple is a company pushing the boundaries, going for what's great, not merely what makes money. The new laptops are just more evidence of this. Although the iphone - which simply blows away the other smartphones out there -- is the best example.
and the reaction of the winzealots? bitterness and disparaging comments. you'd think apple was actually hurting them personally. sad, sad, sad.

@DRWAM
It was probabley that aestheticly fantastik wirless aluminum keybord I'm typing on. Didn't know I got counted off for spelling/typos.... Thank God I'm an engineer and not an English major... I would be crucified by all those holier-than-thou spelling perfectionists...

Lol DRWAM practical, after admitting that you own two MB's? Dam that is hilarious.
Practical would be owning two Accords that would last just as long, get you from point A to point B just as well, probably with better gas mileage and at half the cost (per car).
With the spare change you could buy everyone that has posted so far a new Macbook Pro and a 3rd Accord for your Mom.

what, so now DRWAM has been attacked basically for being cheap and functional, then for being extravagant.
what the fuck do you people want?
As for style, I really don;t get it. It's a freaking laptop. Why would It to be anything other than a laptop? I don't need a laptop as a fashion accesory I need it to be a computer I can carry around with me to places.
You apple zealots have completely lost your tiny little minds!

@cesjr Are you joking? I really hope you are, because it's just frightening to hear someone talking about a profit-driven corporation like they're some religious cult fronted by a modern-day messiah who has arrived to cure suffering in the world by providing glossy screened laptops...oh wait. It's Apple.
I use a Mac, I like my Mac, but this kind of blind idolatry is scary. To actually believe that Apple is doing anything "not merely [to make] money" is bordering on the delusional. If you channeled your passion for these relatively unimportant hunks of plastic and metal toward something that actually mattered in the world, your life, and the lives of those around you, would be much better.
Most "Winzealots" I know aren't jealous. They're just annoyed by the irrational, loud, blind-devotion of a few Mac users like you. I'm a Mac user and I find it irritating too, but that's because I'm a human being first and I don't need a corporation to define my value in life. YMMV

Thanks for posting this Paul. I get a kick out of reading the zealot comments from both camps. It helps me to realize why I choose to be an all around techno geek and not a platform cabalist like so many that post here.
--tayme

@DRWAM no worries, I just thought it was funny.
If I did not have 3 kids in private school I might sell my toyota truck and get me a Benz, I think they are probably some of the best cars made, from a engineering stand point.
That said my Toyota has been the most reliable car I have ever owned from a TCO point.

chuck
The Lotus is doing fine. Thanks for asking.
Oh, and if I were concerned with an appearance of "style" rather than precise handling and clever engineering, I could have bought a Porsche or BMW for the same money and been considered much more "stylish".

Mike's right, I could have gotten an S series instead of an E, [the wife has an R], but I wanted to 'save' money:)
I'm so cheap bettieblu, that I was only going to have two kids. But God knew I was a jerk to woman, they he threw in a twins...all girls too! Even they make fun of my Mac. They laugh at the 'dumb apple' that pops up at startup. "It's no good because it has a bite out of it."

Mike,
"Oh, and if I were concerned with an appearance of "style" rather than precise handling and clever engineering, I could have bought a Porsche or BMW for the same money and been considered much more "stylish".
I always liked BMW, but felt they started decadent after the 2002. Not at all stylish, but it was a fun car. I'd have it still if it hadn't rusted out.

chuck
I absolutely agree with you about BMW. They did amazing work in the days of the Bavaria, 2002 and 3.0 CSi but lost their way when they developed a following for the brand rather than the engineering.

I found this comment on a forum discussing Apple's announcement today:
"Apple has now officially become the Bang & Olufsen of computers"
I think Dell and other notebook manufacturers believe Apple whiffed today.

techboy
I'd have to say that's not far off. But being a big fan of B&O during their Jacob Jensen days from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, I'd say they've become what Bang and Olufsen has become. (And I seriously wish both of them would regain their vision)

@DRWAM Look, seriously, some people like nice things but may not care for it in others. Some may care about the car they drive, but not care about what computer they buy, or visa versa. People make choices like that all the time (as you suggest). And no, I'm not calling you cheap. You obviously have taste, driving a Benz and all :)

@gorath "As for style, I really don;t get it. It's a freaking laptop. Why would It to be anything other than a laptop? I don't need a laptop as a fashion accesory I need it to be a computer I can carry around with me to places."
As I said before, people can (and do) use exactly what you've said about anything. You can take your paragraph and change laptop for any other item and it's the same thing. Some people care about some things and not about others. You could say it about people that buy expensive cars
"As for style, I really don;t get it. It's a freaking CAR. Why would It to be anything other than a CAR? I don't need a CAR as a fashion accesory I need it to be a CAR so that I can get to places."